Gullible No More
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: Knuckles gullibility has always been a curse, and this time, the consequences nearly resulted in Sonic's death. Figuring his friends would be better off without him, Knuckles vows to remain on Angel Island, but when GUN requests his help for a mission, will redemption be found, or will his gullibility lead them all to their doom? Find out! Please Read, Review and Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: A Foolish Ally

**Gullible No More**

 **By: Phoenix Ride**

 **Ch.1: A Foolish Ally**

"Heh," Eggman sighed, as he stumbled back inside of his fortress.

Yet another failure to add to his schemes. Things had seemed to go so well today too!

He had managed to convince Knucklesto be on his side again, and once the echidna was fully engaged with his rival, Eggman surprised everyone by suddenly appearing and capturing Sonic, trapping the pesky blue rodent inside of a torturous cage. The look of shock on Sonic's face was gold, pure gold! But, just seconds away before Eggman could finally finish him off, Knuckles decided to go all noble again and completely destroyed Eggman's machine, saving Sonic, and sending the doctor blasting off to fly to his doom.

This was the usual end result after Eggman convinced the echidna to do his dirty work. Knuckles was gullible and believed his lies, tricked into thinking that Eggman's cause was actually for something good. The naïve fool believed the doctor would change. Everyone except him knew for a fact that that wouldn't happen any time soon.

Then, once the trick was revealed, Knuckles disbelief and anger was always a pain. Especially the latter since Knuckles always came pounding at Eggman full force! It was never good to be on the receiving end of Knuckles blows, but you can't ever say Eggman didn't ask for it in the end.

Having Knuckles strength was like wielding a double-edged sword. If the gullibility flashed over to intelligence it was a very dangerous weapon to wield. But the temptation to use it erased any regards of risk.

And Eggman had used Knuckles many times, and many times Knuckles had believed. The echidna's gullible nature had always been his flaw. So naïve to become blind to the difference on what was good and what was bad. But I guess that's to be expected when you spend your whole life spent on a floating island alone.

The sudden thought of Knuckles living situation made Eggman pause as he briefly reflected on a small moment from his past, back when he was younger, and before he had become obsessed with destroying Sonic the hedgehog.

Those were good times back then, and his life had nearly taken a different course. But things change, and now there was only one goal on his mind.

Starting tomorrow he would come up with another plan to destroy Sonic, and make sure everyone in the world remembered his name.


	2. Chapter 2: Knuckles Guilt

**Ch.2: Knuckles Guilt**

Meanwhile, sitting there alone on Angel Island, the island's guard Knuckles the echidna, sat brooding in silence, arms crossed over his chest as he sat a few feet on the shrine steps. The Master Emerald shined like a glowing, green beacon behind him, but Knuckles barely paid it any heed. His thoughts were consumed with what had happened earlier today, when Eggman had nearly killed Sonic in his grasp.

The tragedy was so close. Sonic was near his end!

"And all because I was a fool again."

Knuckles opened his eyes, gazing his gaze on the full moon in the night sky as his mind reflected back to those terrible events.

Knuckles was out for a walk in the forest when Eggman approached and said that Sonic had stolen something very precious away from him, a personal item that he loved with all his evil, little, black heart. Sonic refused to return the item, and Knuckles promised Eggman that he would help convince Sonic to give it back.

Of course, when he confronted the hedgehog they ended up in a fight. This was always how things went it seemed.

In full brawl, Sonic explained that Eggman's story was false, but Knuckles was to mad to believe his friends words.

Tails and Amy stood helplessly at the sidelines watching Sonic and Knuckles fight, waiting for the two rivals to wear each other out, when suddenly the whole ground shook underneath their feet, catching everyone by surprise.

The fight paused as Sonic and Knuckles stood confused at the center of the quake, trying to stand on the violent rumblings thundering underneath their feet.

Suddenly, the ground opened up and a giant robot came out, trapping Sonic, and taking the helpless, blue hedgehog hundreds of feet up into the air. When the dust settled, everyone bore witness to a horrible sight.

"Hahaha!" laughed Eggman at the top of his new machine.

The good doctor had built himself a dragon-like robot with Sonic trapped in its clear, blue central core. The dragon robot was fearsome, its metal bright red, and yellow eyes that glowed like flames. Fire spouted out the spines along its back, and lethal-looking claws sprouted from the beast's sides, looking as deadly as the teeth when the beast roared.

Eggman was seated in the Eggmobile at the cockpit, placed right between the dragon's horns.

"Hahaha!" he laughed again " Now will be the end of Sonic the hedgehog!"

With that said, Eggman pressed a command into the controls and the dragon robot roared again, except this time electricity roared all across its giant, metal scales. The next thing anyone knew, the core Sonic was trapped in glowed, and the blue hedgehog was suddenly crying out in pain.

"Sonic!" Amy and Tails yelled at the sound of Sonic's scream.

"Hahaha!" laughed Eggman " Yes, yes! Feed me your pain!"

Knuckles was furious. Is what Eggman had planned all along?

"Eggman!" yelled Knuckles " I thought you said Sonic had stole something from you."

"Quite the opposite" said Eggman " I'm stealing something from him, his life force! My dragon robot is designed to steal the life energy of anyone it consumes, powering itself in the process. I shall use Sonic's own might to destroy the world he always tries to save. And I have you to thank Knuckles, if you hadn't distracted him, I would have never caught him this way."

Knuckles stepped back stunned at Eggman's claim, before the dragon robot suddenly sprouted electric wings and started flying through the air, burning up the hills and forest as it passed.

Knuckles stared back at Amy and Tails who went immediately into hero mode to save Sonic. Dashing towards the parked Tornado, the hedgehog and fox immediately bee-lined for the plane, with Knuckles following behind in order to help stop this threat.

Needless to say, Amy wasn't very pleased to have Knuckles as company. And Tails seemed just as upset, even though the echidna could tell the twin-tailed fox was trying his best to hold in his rage.

Without a word, the trio took off to the skies, where they eventually managed to catch up with Eggman's monstrous creation.

Inside the central core, Sonic continued to scream, while the robot blazed and burned through everything in its path.

Storm clouds were beginning to gather, darkening the sky, and it wasn't long before the signs of thunder and lightning could be seen.

Tails closed in on the Dragon-bot's tail, and started firing at any weapon the beast had along its sides. He aimed especially for the claws and head, where Eggman was. Of course the doctor didn't make it a very easy fight.

"I can't risk damaging the core" thought Tails " I'll kill Sonic if I aim there."

"Hahaha!" laughed Eggman " Fight all you want! As long as I hold Sonic captive, this whole world will bend to its knees."

"Not if I can help it!" thought Knuckles, and decided it was time for him to do something insane.

Hopping off of the Tornado, Knuckles glided over to the dragon's back, punching through the spines that blew the flames, until he reached the core, where Sonic was.

"No!" yelled Eggman panicking, as the dragon's head turned and he saw that Knuckles was about to punch.

Crack! The shell guarding the core shattered, and Knuckles dived in to save Sonic before the hedgehog could crash into the earth.

With no Sonic to power it up anymore, the whole dragon robot began to sputter and fade, diving down straight for the ground. Knuckles held on tight to Sonic and the metal beast's side as the giant machine began to crash.

However, Mother Nature saw that this crash might not be quick enough, and sent a lightning bolt to strike the creature, sending it faster towards its doom.

"Guh!" grunted Knuckles as the Dragon-bot plummeted even more.

He couldn't stay on this crate for a second longer. Gripping Sonic tight, Knuckles let go of the robot and jumped.

Air catching underneath his dreadlocks, Knuckles glided him and Sonic towards a safe place, while Eggman ejected from his own creation and escaped before it could explode.

The machine was nothing more than a pile of scrap now, but the ruins it left in its wake still burned.

Knuckles felt guilty as he sat down by Sonic's side, rain starting to sprinkle now as it dyed his red fur wet. The hedgehog was unconscious, but his chest and mouth still breathed, while bruises showed to mark his pain.

"I was the one responsible for this," thought Knuckles " I really let Sonic down."

Knuckles continued to sit there in self-pity until Tails and Amy arrived to help take Sonic home. Amy immediately yelled at Knuckles for causing all of this, while Tails just looked on with worry and rage.

Knuckles dare didn't bother them as they loaded Sonic up to the Tornado in order to fly him home, nor did he insist on joining them in order to get a ride back.

He just watched quietly as Amy and Tails left, before turning around, stalking back to his island through the rain.

Hours later, the storm cleared, allowing the moon and stars to be seen as day descended into night. The view of the celestial bodies had always been a calming part of Angel Island, but not today, as Knuckles dragged himself back to the reality of the shrine.

This place had been a curse to him, forced to spend every single moment alone. Until Sonic and Eggman had found his island, there was nothing else Knuckles had to live for, and now he had friends.

With those friends came adventures he had never before dreamed. But now, those dreams were gone, and likely never to happen again.

His gullibility had caused to much pain. It was better that he stay here, alone.

"I'll never leave the island again."


	3. Chapter 3: Sonic Awakes

**Ch.3: Sonic Awakes**

Morning rose the next day, and Sonic found himself wearily waking up in his bed. What had happened yesterday? Everything was almost a blur.

Slowing his thoughts, Sonic was carefully able to place the images back in place in his mind.

He was out hanging out with Tails and Amy when Knuckles showed up telling him to return what he had stole from Eggman. Sonic immediately asked what did he mean, and when the echidna described the item he had immediately gasped in surprise.

How did Eggman even know of that thing, when the only person he ever told was Tails.

"He has no claim to that!" thought Sonic " It's mine! Why is he tricking Knuckles into getting it for him anyway?"

As usual, Knuckles didn't believe the truth when he heard it and they immediately began to fight. But during the brawl, the ground shook, and Sonic was instantly trapped inside of Eggman's machine.

All he could remember next was pain, unbearable pain, until he finally passed out.

Everything seemed alright now though. At least he knew that he and the others had made it out safe. Speaking of which, where were they?

Determined to find out the answer, Sonic raised himself out of bed, and ran into Tails just moments after he had exited the room.

The twin-tailed fox was both worried and joyful to see Sonic awake. Joyful because Sonic was finally up, but worried since the hedgehog should clearly lie back down to rest.

No matter the emotion, Tails quickly gripped Sonic in hug, telling him that he was happy that his friend returned.

"Yeah I'm glad too" said Sonic " So where are Knux and Amy?"

"Knuckles is probably back on Angel Island" said Tails " and Amy is waiting to hear good news."

"Guess you should go ahead and call her then" said Sonic " How did you guys rescue me from that thing?"

"I brought down its weaponry, and Knuckles rescued you," said Tails.

"Really" said Sonic " I've got to thank Rad Red someday. Eggman's robot really did a number on my system."

"He almost got you killed," said Tails.

"Yeah, I know," said Sonic.

"Not just Eggman" said Tails " Knuckles too."

"Huh? Knuckles?" said Sonic confused, and it was just now that he saw the bitterness burning in Tails eyes.

"This never would have happened if it hadn't been for him!" growled Tails.

"Hey now!" said Sonic " You can't go blaming Knux for all this. Sure he was tricked, but that doesn't mean that he knows what Eggman is planning. You forget that Knux isn't the most social person, that's why he fall for lies easily."

"I know" said Tails " but it's always a pain when that is the case."

"We can't just turn our back on him Tails," said Sonic.

"Tell that to Amy" said the fox " I doubt she'll ever forgive."

"She was always stubborn," thought Sonic.

Hopefully, in the end he could make everything right.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Amy's house, the pink rose hedgehog just sat down with a drink as she watched peoples' reactions to Eggman's latest scheme. The news woman reported that Dr. Eggman's Dragon-bot had done some considerable damage to the land. Many were injured, but none died, and at that news Amy sighed with relief.

Eggman's creations seemed to get deadlier each and every time. She wondered if Sonic had recovered yet?

Her mind flash-backed to when she and Tails had brought him home…

Poor Sonic, he looked so frail and lifeless, Amy hated seeing him in such a way. Her love in her mind was indestructible, but to see his torn like this was an unbearable sight. And all because Knuckles had to screw things up!

Amy didn't know what was up with that echidna he ended endlessly tricked and tricked again. It was like he didn't have any brains floating around inside of his head to tell the difference between right and wrong!

Being a social outcast was no excuse! He had helped Sonic and them fight Eggman many times, and yet he still believed that there was a possibility about the doctor somehow becoming good?!

Eggman would never be good! Never!

And if Knuckles was going to keep falling for his tricks, why shouldn't he join just Eggman's side and be done with it!

"Heh heh," Amy felt herself breathe.

She knew that she shouldn't be thinking about these things, it was cruel and wrong, slanderous to think of Knuckles in such a way.

He was just so naïve, and it hurt this time when he betrayed them. Still, Amy wasn't ready to confront him any time soon, and was relieved when the phone rang, distracting her from her thoughts.

A small grin lit up on her face when she heard Tails voice from the other end, telling her that Sonic was awake and okay.

"I'll be right over there," she informed, before she hung the phone up and prepared to leave.

Her last thoughts before she disappeared were of kissing and hugging Sonic, telling him that she was glad that he was alright. Her rage at Knuckles dimmed into the mist, where hopefully she would forget his name.


	4. Chapter 4: A Bat Visit

**Ch.4: A Bat Visit**

Rouge didn't really know why G.U.N. should get involved. What did they have to gain from scavenging parts from one of Eggman's machines? Something screwy seemed to be going on inside of headquarters lately. The bat could feel it in her bones.

Of course, Rouge couldn't tell if one of her partners felt the same. Shadow was as cool and as distant as always, while Omega was getting a tad impatient in order to annihilate someone. There hadn't been any new missions for them for a while now, and before Rouge could reflect on just how strange that was, her wrist monitor beeped, signaling that the Commander was calling them over to the briefing room.

Soon enough, all of the members of Team Dark were gathered, and waited patiently as their boss took a deep breath before he informed.

"Alright" the Commander said " I guess you're all wondering why we are using some of our resources to dissect Eggman's machine."

"The thought did catch my attention," said Rouge.

"Yes, well" said the Commander " We've been noticing how deadly the Doctor had been lately. This dragon machine had caused massive destruction and chaos. We think Eggman may have been receiving a helping hand, some who is helping 'improve' his designs."

"Makes sense" said Shadow " but the Doctor doesn't allow anyone just under his roof."

"I know" said the Commander " but whoever he did let in could prove to be a serious threat to the world. Also, some of our researchers suspect that some important information they found on the Ark could relate to all this."

"Ark?" said Shadow surprised.

Rouge didn't blame him. She was pretty stunned as well.

A couple of years ago, one of her first missions was to investigate the mystery of the Ultimate Lifeform on the Space Colony Ark. The mission had almost ended up as a complete disaster as Eggman's grandfather, the late Gerald Robotnik, reprogrammed the space colony to crash and shatter the planet once all seven chaos emeralds were in place.

The Commander just nodded at Shadow's surprise, before retrieving a piece of paper from the desk.

"This was brought to my attention a little while ago," said the Commander, handing the form over for Team Dark to read.

"It was filed deep in the Ark's database under 'Highly Classified'" he continued " We're having difficultly translating most of it. Maybe there's something you could tell me."

Rouge didn't know what to make of the form. Some parts were in English, while the rest was written in tongue she really didn't know. What she did notice right away, is that the form kept talking about some tribe, a tribe that had special powers and interested Gerald to do more research.

 _"I have yet to unlock the mysteries of that great, big stone."_

"Hold on a minute" said Rouge, starting to get the point here " is this about…,"

"The Master Emerald?" Shadow finished for her.

The Commander nodded, and Shadow looked back at the form, reflecting back on the last adventure he had had on the Ark.

Come to think of it, he did remember the core looking just like the shrine, not the ruins it was now, but when it looked whole and new. He never considered that Angel Island held any importance to his past, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe he should have thought about the whole connection more.

"If this really is connected to Eggman" said Rouge " then we're going to need Knuckles help on this."

"Hmph, good luck" said Shadow " you really think you can get him to leave that island of his?"

"If he can take break once and awhile to help Sonic save the world I don't see why not" said Rouge " You just wait. By the end of the day, I guarantee Knuckles will join us."

* * *

Moments later, Rouge was flying out to Angel Island to see if she could convince Knuckles to help them out on the case. Shadow suggested for a moment that maybe it was better they all go. He knew how Rouge and Knuckles acted around each other, and if they got into an argument, the chances of the echidna stepping in and helping was literally zero percent.

Rouge took offense to that suggestion, and reported that everything would be fine. Though, on the inside, she shared some of Shadow's doubt as well.

Knuckles was dedicated to his duty, and nothing short of world-shattering crisis could make him ever pull away. But that didn't mean that she couldn't try, and Rouge smiled at the thought of the challenge.

Meanwhile, on his position at the altar, Knuckles was just sitting and enjoying some fruit, when he noticed bat girl flying in overhead.

"Oh not now," he thought. He really wasn't in the mood.

No doubt Rouge was here to try to take away the Master Emerald again. That jewel thief just didn't know when to quit. Almost monthly, the bat would make various trips out to his island. They'd banter, they'd fight, and then she would leave with empty pockets claiming that she would get the jewel next time.

"Maybe if I end this quickly she'll go away," thought Knuckles in his head.

"Hiya Handsome," called Rouge as she landed on the ground.

"What do you want Rouge?" growled Knuckles, showing that he was not in the mood.

"Why Knuckie, I'm hurt" said Rouge " I assure that I only came on business,"

"Yeah right!" scoffed Knuckles, not believing a word.

"It's true" said Rouge " GUN has insisted that you help us with a case."

That caught Knuckles off guard.

"The military wanted me?" he thought " No, it can't be! It's a trick!"

"I assure it's quite serious" said Rouge, as if she could read the echidna's thoughts. " Now will you help us out or not?"

"No" said Knuckles, after a few seconds of silent tension " I'm not leaving Angel Island…ever again."

Now it was Rouge's turn to be taken off guard, totally surprised by the deep depression in the echidna's tone. What had happened up here? His eyes were hurt! As if everything he had ever known was slowly crumbling to an end.

"Why?" asked Rouge, her voice laced with concern.

Knuckles didn't answer.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Eggman" sighed Knuckles " I believed him and almost destroyed my team. They're better off without me now. I'll just stay here, alone."

"Pathetic," said Rouge " How is that different from the rest of your life? You really think if you just stay up here that your friends won't run the risk of being killed? Sonic runs into danger all of the time. You'll never hear him saying 'No'."

"Sonic almost died because of me!" yelled Knuckles, surprising Rouge with his words. "I'm the one who fell for Eggman's tricks! I'm the one responsible for making the whole village burn! My gullibility is a threat that everyone takes advantage of. They don't need a danger like that on their team."

"Well, will wonders never cease," thought Rouge. Knuckles finally realized how gullible he is, and it hurt her to see the revelation was causing him so much pain.

"Hey that's…," Rouge started to say, but was interrupted by Knuckles.

"You didn't see their eyes Rouge" said Knuckles softly, his gaze cast down. " They hated me."

At that statement Rouge felt rage boiling up in her blood. After this case was over, she would have to stop by and Sonic and his gang a stern talking, but right now she had a moody echidna to cheer up.

"Listen Knux" said Rouge, stepping up by the echidna " you may be gullible, but it's not your fault. And at least you're not easily distracted by flattery. If Sonic and his friends don't want you around, that's their choice, but hiding up here from them is the coward's way. And I know you to well for you to think like that."

"Come work with us" she continued " if only to clear your mind. Help us find out who has been helping out building Eggman's machines. And by the way, we have something else for you to see. We think that it may be related to the echidnas."

"Echidnas?" said Knuckles, his interest suddenly peaked.

Rouge nodded.

"There were some files found on board the Ark" she explained " it seems like Professor Gerald did some deep research on the echidna culture, and you're the only expert around who could possibly know about that."

"Professor Gerald," thought Knuckles, remembering his adventure on board of the Space Colony Ark.

The core did look a lot like the shrine. It was almost a perfect recreation of his visions with Tikal. Knuckles had been amazed when he had seen it. How did the mad scientist know?

"If I help them maybe I can find out" thought Knuckles " but that will mean confronting Eggman too."

A vision of Sonic's broken body filled his mind.

"I need to redeem myself," he cringed.

"Okay, I'll do it" he said to Rouge " but I need to put the Master Emerald away somewhere first."

A chance of redemption had been dropped upon him, and there was no way he could pass that up. Maybe, by the end, they could be friends again, and hatred would be erased from their glares.


	5. Chapter 5: The Chaotix Come

**Ch.5: The Chaotix Come**

"Hmm" said Vector, once he and the Chaotix had arrived back home " things seem to have changed while we were away."

Espio and Charmy nodded their heads, agreeing with their boss. The whole area around them seemed to be a complete disaster. Trees were burned into stumps, and a few local homes and businesses had been destroyed.

It didn't take long to sight the cause. Not far away, a huge pile of broken up scrap metal could be seen, surrounded by a ring of military troops. There was no doubt the pile was formed because of one of Eggman's machines, but why were the military there?

Detective senses tingling, Vector nodded his head towards Charmy and Espio, and the three of them moved closer in order to find out.

As expected, a military guard with the initials 'GUN' on his jacket, stopped the Chaotix before they could get to far.

"Stop! Back away! No outsiders beyond this point!"

"What happened up here?" asked Vector, pointing to the scrap pile.

"Standard Eggman disturbance" said the GUN soldier " Sonic and his friends managed to stop the rampage, but as you can see a lot of damage has been dealt."

"Is that why GUN is here tinkering with Eggman's machine?" asked Espio.

"That's highly classified material" responded the GUN agent " Now move along! There's nothing to see here!"

Knowing they had just been brushed off, and were unlikely to get any more information out of the soldier, the Chaotix turned and walked away, suspicion rising in their minds.

"Whelp" said Vector " I'd say that they're definitely trying to hide something from us."

"True" said Espio " GUN has never gotten involved with Eggman attacks before. There's got to be some deeper meaning behind this."

"Uh" sighed Charmy " the only deep meaning I feel is the emptiness of my tummy. Vector, you said that once we got back from vacation we would stop and grab us a bite to eat. Let's eat now! I want a hamburger! I want a hambur…!"

"Okay! I get it!" Vector interrupted " We're near a burger joint now. We'll stop and get something there."

Soon, the Chaotix stopped into a small restaurant and ordered their food; two combo platters and a salad special for Espio. The aroma rafting up into the air was great. Now, the only problem was to find a place to sit down and eat.

"Now let's see" thought Vector " where should we…,"

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by that of a nine-year old bee.

"Hey, isn't that Sonic over there?" asked Charmy.

Espio and Vector immediately turned to face where the kid looked, and were stunned to see that it really was Sonic, hanging out with Amy and Tails. Food lay out on their table looking half-eaten, so it was pretty obvious that they had been here for a bit.

"Whelp" said Vector " How 'bout we go over and say 'Hi'?"

So the Chaotix approached where trio sat, and Sonic's smile instantly beamed when he saw the detectives approach.

"Hey! Charmy, Espio, Vector! Come join us you guys!"

"Wow" said Sonic once they sat down " I haven't seen you guys in an age. Where have you been?"

"On vacation" said Vector " taking a break between cases you know."

"I got ya" said Sonic " Pretty much the same thing here."

"We witnessed," said Espio " So Eggman attacked again huh?"

"Yeah, it was a real doozy this time too" said Sonic " If it weren't for Knuckles I might not even be alive. I was planning to run by and go thank him later."

"I still say you shouldn't bother" huffed Amy " It was his stupid fault in the first place!"

"Amy" said Sonic " We already talked about this. You can't be mad at Knux forever. You know he was tricked!"

"He's always tricked Sonic!" yelled Amy "That's why he's a liability to the team!"

Stunned silence gripped the table at the sound of Amy's harsh comment. Vector felt his scales tighten as his hand rolled up in rage.

"I don't know what 'that' was about" growled Vector " but I don't take to kindly on anyone speaking bad about one of my friends."

Fear lit up on Amy's face, and her head turned down away from Vector's eyes.

"We'll go with you" said Espio to Sonic, breaking the tension " It'll be nice to see Knuckles again."

* * *

Later, after their meal was finished, the group finally arrived at Angel Island, and started making their way towards the Master Emerald shrine, where they knew Knuckles would be.

Amy kept to the back of the group, feeling guilty about what she had said earlier, and was wondering about how she could apologize to both her friends and Knuckles when her friends gasps caught her by surprise.

"No way!" said Vector.

"It can't be!" said Sonic.

But it was, the shrine of the Master Emerald was empty, not only of the guardian, but of the jewel as well.

"Kn…Knuckles" said Sonic suddenly worried " Has he…was he attacked?"

There were a few incidents where the Master Emerald had been stolen in the past, but none had resulted in the crazy scene they were seeing now. The Master Emerald was always on the altar, with the echidna stuck like glue to its side. To see both gone was worrying, and indicated a serious threat.

Espio however, found something odd, and raised his voice to answer Sonic's previous question.

"I don't think so" said Espio " There's no sign of a struggle. And if the Master Emerald is gone, why is Angel Island still floating?"

"That's right!" said Tails " We came here in the Tornado. That means the Master Emerald must still be here."

"But why would Knuckles move it away from the shrine?" asked Amy.

"I don't know" said Sonic " Hey Vector, do you have any idea where Knux and the Emerald might be?"

"Oo, I do!" said Charmy " He probably took it to Hidden Palace. We might find him there."

"Hidden Palace?" asked Sonic.

With the Chaotix taking lead, the trio of detectives guided Sonic and the others deep underground to one of Angel Island's many secrets. A large cavern, built and constructed by the past members of Knuckles fallen tribe. Amy and Tails were amazed by the stonework, and even more amazed when they glimpsed the Hidden Palace itself.

Shining like a jewel underground was a polished, white altar, guarded at the sides by two tall, gold statues made to represent regal-looking echidnas dressed in their warrior garb.

"Well what do you know," said Vector, looking at the top of the altar.

It seemed like Charmy had been right, Knuckles did leave the Master Emerald here. But where was the guardian? What happened to Knux?

"Ugh!" said Espio, touching an invisible wall that created a barrier just a couple of feet from the shrine. " He's put the shield up. That means he's left Angel Island for a while."

"Left the island?" asked Amy.

"Yeah" said Vector " Knux doesn't leave the island very often, and when he helps you guys he can be away for quite a bit. If we're around, he'll let us watch over the place. But if we can't, he puts the shield up and it can last for a couple of days. But hiding the Emerald here, then putting up the shield, means he'll gone for longer."

"Then where did he go?" asked Tails.

"I don't know" said Sonic " but I don't like it. Knux may be in trouble, and if he is, we're going to help him get out of it."


	6. Chapter 6: Forgotten Shadows

**Ch.6: Forgotten Shadows**

Back inside of GUN Headquarters, red eyes glared up and down the screen as Shadow the Hedgehog scrolled through the information that the Commander had bequeathed to them earlier, concerning the Ark.

"Professor" thought Shadow in his mind, as he read through the words " just what more is there to my past?"

Shadow had wondered about this same question before, even before he had become a permanent member of Team Dark. Silently, his thoughts reflected on his first moments of being resurrected from cryo-sleep.

The most stand-out memory in his mind was his capture, and his promise before he was sealed away to be locked forever inside of a military base. When Eggman came to awaken him, revenge was his only goal. He would carry out his master's ambitions and seek the death of all humanity, destroying those who had cost Maria her life.

But his purpose changed the moment victory was almost in hand, when he remembered the real words that Maria had spoke before she had launched him out into space. Protect humanity, let them live for their dreams. The Professor's way was wrong, he had to honor the promise he made to his best friend.

And he did. With the help of Sonic, Shadow was able to stop the Space Colony Ark from crashing into the Earth, but was severely drained after the first time he had used the Super form.

He fell to Earth and somehow survived, only to be captured by Eggman and sealed away inside of a room. If Rouge hadn't broken in on one of her treasure hunts, who knows how long he would have been asleep there, ready to be brainwashed for some other scheme.

"My memories are all I have" thought Shadow " and I can't afford to forget them now."

Even if some of those memories were false, like Rouge suggested long ago, they were still a major part to who he was, and he couldn't afford to discard them, never, never again.

The only problem was, which were the correct memories, and how did they connect to the messed up movie in his mind? Could Knuckles and his culture have had that much of a part to play with what happened on the Ark?

Shadow didn't know, but he was sure going to find out.

* * *

A few minutes later, Knuckles and Rouge did finally arrive, and Knuckles was slightly impressed by GUN's interior décor, though he couldn't expect much else from a military base.

"Aw, there they are," said Rouge, noticing Omega and Shadow. The two turned and looked to them, slightly surprised that they were there.

"Well" said Shadow to Rouge " you actually got him to come after all."

"Didn't I say I would?" said Rouge.

"What about the Master Emerald?" asked Shadow.

"It's safe," said Rouge.

"So she wasn't lying to me," said Knuckles, looking at Shadow.

"Of course I wasn't!" yelled Rouge "Do you really think I would lie about something like this!"

Knuckles just smirked, and Shadow chuckled a bit in his mind about the echidna's clever trick. But now the time was not for jokes, they had some serious business to attend.

Guiding Knuckles over to the same files he had been reading earlier, Shadow watched as the echidna's eyes slowly glanced over the text. By the various expressions his face was showing, the one most prevalent was amaze, as if he just couldn't believe what had really been found.

"This…this is just amazing" Knuckles finally said " It's almost a complete history about my kind."

"How did Dr. Gerald know so much about the echidnas?" said Rouge.

"It doesn't go into a lot of detail" said Knuckles " but I think that he found a Chaos Emerald, and thought that it could possibly be a cure for Maria. He wanted to know everything about them, so he researched my kind, seeking to understand. That does explain a bit about the core looking like the altar, but still, there are some things that don't make sense."

"Like what?" asked Shadow.

"How could he possibly know?" asked Knuckles.

Growing silent for a minute, Knuckles reflected upon the visions he had once had with Tikal, the female echidna who would come to be known as the shrine's first guardian.

Back then, Chaos had just been unleashed. An ancient water god, a beast of destruction, that had been trapped in the Master Emerald for hundreds of years.

When looking for the scattered shard, Tikal's spirit came to Knuckles, showing him vision after vision about their kind's past. He saw how she was born into the Pachamac Tribe and then accidently discovered the location of the Master Emerald, making friends with its guardian, Chaos.

Once her father discovered Tikal's secret, he immediately wanted to take the power for himself. Despite his daughter's desperate pleas, his obsession was to great, and the result of his attack nearly led to the elimination of his entire tribe.

Everything ancient was now in ruins, including the shrine itself. Knuckles mind slowly came back to the present day.

The shrine aboard the Ark had been whole, constructed just the way it had been in the past. How could Dr. Gerald possibly know? How could he know what the altar had looked like before it was destroyed? That was the question Knuckles was finding hard to explain.

"Is there anything else?" asked Shadow, snapping the echidna out of his thoughts.

"He had help," said Knuckles. That much was clear. The only question was who… and why.


	7. Chapter 7: Dark Will

**Ch.7: Dark Will**

Meanwhile, over at Dr. Eggman's fortress, robotic eyes watched out from the shadows as Orbot observed his master determinedly working on another plan in order to bring Sonic down. The doctor and his mechanical creations were becoming more deadly by the day.

The Dragon-Bot Eggman developed was, so far, the closest one ever when it came to almost ending the hedgehog's life. An uncomfortable feeling passed Orbot's circuits as he thought about how dastardly and sinister his master had become.

The red robot had a theory as to what dramatically changed the doctor's mood, and glanced over to the right side of Eggman's desk, where a glowing, dark emerald lay. The emerald was discovered by one of Eggman's mining operations some time ago. He was so pleased to discover it. Who would have known, that deep in Mobius, there was an 8th Chaos Emerald buried all this time.

"It's become an obsession though," thought Orbot, as he wished the darn thing would just disappear.

While Orbot thought that, the emerald glowed, and Eggman spoke back as if it was talking in words.

"Yes, yes. Tell me more."

Orbot was frightened. What did he just see?

"Of course! That's it!" shouted Eggman, his mind born with a new evil scheme.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at G.U.N. Headquarters, Knuckles sat silently in the lobby as he waited for the General to finish talking over what he had translated for Team Dark. Once he had translated it for the three of them, Knuckles dismissed himself while Rouge went to get the General so that he could be informed.

Silently, Knuckles reflected on the interesting things he had read. Dr. Gerald…all his knowledge on the echidna culture…just who was his source? Was it possible that were any echidnas who were still alive, long before Knuckles was born?

Knuckles didn't know, like Shadow, he too had very faint memories about his past. He had to had a family, otherwise how would he be born? How would he know about the Master Emerald and how he was supposed to guard it? How would he know how much danger it would cause if the Emerald was ever used for harm?

These questions had plagued Knuckles every day as the years, and yet, his job was the only clear thing he could remember in his mind. The past was a blur, buried in a mist, forgotten in time.

"Why can't I remember?" thought Knuckles " Why can't…"

Rouge suddenly came in, interrupting the echidna's thoughts.

"Knuckles" said Rouge " we're ready to move now,"

"Eggman?" said Knuckles. A nod.

Knuckles stood up, ready to go on his first mission with Team Dark. He glanced at Shadow as he and Omega suddenly entered the room.

"I'm not the only one with a troubled past" thought Knuckles " Maybe, by the end, we'll both get the answers we seek."


End file.
